Orphen the Novel
by lishyu
Summary: Some basic info... hope this will answer your questions, Rocketto Neko, and Patricia


About the Novel.  
  
  
  
Since nobody seems to know anything about the novel 'Majutsushi Orphan', or even that the animation IS based on a novel, I'll give a little background info about it.  
  
The Novel [Majutsushi Orphan] by Akita Yoshinobu, illustrated by Kusaka Yuuya, started a looong time ago when the author was yet 19. (I know... young... wish I could write a novel like that now.)  
It has three series to it so far.  
  
1. The main series. [Majutsushi Orphan - a sidetracked journey ]  
A dark, Dark story. Some humor, but mostly about a boy's devolution (Yes, DEvolution) from a promising young sorceror into a low-life while in a search for his lost sister. Orphan's increasingly worsening identity disorder is the main form of entertainment in this series. Currently has up to Book 18.  
  
2. Side quest. Tells the tale of Orphan while in Totokanta, up until a day before the start of the main series.  
Of all three series, this...uh, destroys Orphan's 'cool' image the most. (You've got to feel sorry for him... I mean, the way he acts like a starving, trashed puppy madly rushing for leftovers...) Extremely funny and pointless in general.  
  
3. Pre-Orphan. Killiranshelo's tale, before Azalea's 'funeral'. Very short and no general plot. Funny and pointless, but if you've read the first two series... and know the outcome of this happy 'family', the smile fades away. Features the ever so sweet (and cute and adorable and polite) Assasin, Killi-chan.  
  
  
The writing is... great. There's no other way of putting it. Unique character development, detailed environmental description, heart-wrenching emotional breakdowns, humor almost as good as Slayers, etc, etc... not to mention the plot. You have to see this guy's writing... I mean, the battle scenes... it's breath taking. Even the chapter titles in the books are good, building up the suspence in a... creepy sort of a way.  
  
  
  
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I don't exactly know which one came out first, the comic or the animation. But the Novel IS the original, with both the comic and animation based on it.  
  
Since I don't know much about the comic, I'll skip that.  
  
  
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I don't exactly know the full extent of the difference between the novel and the animation, since I've only watched the animation up till episode 6. But here are the differences I've gathered so far from various internet sites and so on.  
  
1. Killiranshelo's class mates and the whole tower of fang in general is warped.  
Lai and Flameheart are animation-only characters (not too sure... maybe they changed the name only, from existing characters. Haven't actually seen them, so can't judge). The whole of Childman Powderfield's class has changed. Apparently nobody knows anything about Tish, Portea, Komikron, Korgon...etc. The whole of the 'big happy family' has disappeared... T T  
  
2. Orphan doesn't have a personality disorder anymore. He is a lot more.........Nicer, in the animation. MUCH more chivalry.  
His only problem is Azalea now, who've become more like his lover, than his sister. The animation made Orphan/Azalea relationship much... simpler. I guess they had to make it easier for younger viewers to digest the relationship. Kind of disappointed though.  
  
3. No more [Successor of Razor Edge]. Killi-chan lost his title... (sobs)  
I guess this was done to make the storyline simpler. Can't really blame them, I guess. Trying to squeeze 10 novels into 24 episodes is hard.  
  
4. A lot more of Hartia.   
Love Hartia, so can't complain. Hartia has a much smaller role in the novel though.  
  
5. The storyline... Can't really say much about this either. I mean, this is inevitable, so won't comment on it. The difference IS pretty huge (well, from what I can gather).  
  
6. .....who knows?  
  
  
  
  
As far as I know, the novel's been translated into Korean and Chinese, and that's it. So no, I'm sorry but I don't know where you can get an english copy... I guess they'll might start if the animation sells out enough copies. Sorry, Roketto Neko...  
  
Well, they're the general facts. Hope you all enjoy Orphan, and try out the novel too, when it comes out.  
Have a great time :)  
  
  
Lishyu 


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